Report: Small businesses oppose government mandates on credit card networks

The Small Business Payments Alliance issued a report on Monday that found an overwhelming majority of small businesses oppose new government mandates on payment networks; are more concerned with inflationary pressures than the cost of processing credit cards; and rely on the security offered by leading credit card networks to operate their businesses and serve their customers.

Legislation currently under consideration in Congress – the Durbin-Marshall credit card bill – was introduced last year as the “Credit Card Competition Act”. This legislation would institute a new government “routing mandate” that would dictate processing networks. A recent study revealed that the bill would “disproportionately benefit the top five businesses in the U.S.” while “costing small businesses over $1 billion in lost rewards as well as a decline in access to credit.”